What happened to CONWAY TWITTY

Conway Twitty whose real name was Harold Lloyd Jenkins was born September 1st 1933 in FAR's Point Mississippi his father a riverboat captain soon moved the family to Helena Arkansas were young Twitty learned to love country the blues and gospel music although he had a country band and a radio show in Helena by the time he was 10 years old as a child Twitty dreamed of playing baseball in the major leagues in 1954 when he was still in high school Twitty played the sport well enough to draw an offer from the Philadelphia Phillies but was unable to join the team since he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War while serving overseas Twitty formed a band called the Cimarron when he returned to the States 1956 Twitty heard an early Elvis Presley record and changed his mind about baseball to focus on a career in music the following year Twitty officially changed his name from Harold Jenkins to Conway Twitty taking his name from two towns he noticed on a road map Conway Arkansas and Twitty Texas the newly christened Twitty formed a group called the rock Hauser's which performed anywhere it could including supermarket openings eventually the group was renamed the Twitty Byrds and found some success as a rockabilly band the band released the song it's only make-believe which initially didn't gain much traction by 1958 the band was no longer together but Twitty signed with MGM records at this point it's only make-believe exploded on the charts and would go on to become one of the year's biggest selling worldwide hits eventually selling over eight million copies believe it's only make-believe and here is Conway Twitty [Music] the song featured vocal support by Presley's backup singers the Jordanaires Twitty continued to top the pop charts from 1958 to 1961 he also appeared in a few low-budget teen films such as sex kittens go to college Twiggy's rock-and-roll fame arrived suddenly and disappeared just as quickly by the beginning of 1961 his singles had stopped charting in the top 40 since his original love was for country music in 1965 Twitty walked out in the middle of a concert at a New Jersey nightclub and decided he would become a country singer three years later he scored his first top 10 country single the image of me that hit was followed by his first number one country hit next in line she's cried conway twitty soon became one of country music's most prolific songwriters scorned yet another number one hit with 1970s hello darlin how am i doing I'm new [Music] Twitty drew from his gospel and blues roots adding their subtle influences to define and expand the limitations of country music in the early 1970s Twiggy's lyrics became more suggestive and controversial taste your tender kisses I'm in tell you've never been this far before the hit you've never been this far before spent three weeks at number one despite being banned by many radio stations making Twitty country music's first adult contemporary star Twitty also recorded many successful duets with country superstar Loretta Lynn the pair received the Country Music Association's Award for vocal duet of the year for four consecutive years from 1972 to 1975 the duo regularly toured together and shared business interests in 1975 xx scored his 12th country number one hit with Lynda on my mind all the song spent eight weeks on the charts an astute businessman Tweety owned a music promotion company a large slice of real estate a burger chain and a theme park called 20 City that included the Conway mansion Twitty City which opened in 1982 became one of Nashville's biggest attractions drawing fans eager to visit Twitty at his home from all over the world more often than not Twitty himself would greet his fans and welcomed them into the park in 1981 as Twitty exited his tour bus he slipped and fell hitting his head against the steps friend's bandmates and family members believe the Twitty suffered an extreme change in personality after the incident according to his daughter Joanie Judy was not in the right state of mind for several months fortunately Twitty recovered and spent the next decade recording hit songs and touring all over America in 1988 Twitty received Country Music's living legend award on June 4th 1993 Twitty became ill while performing in Branson Missouri he collapsed on his tour bus and was taken to Cox Medical Center in nearby Springfield where he was rushed into surgery to repair a ruptured blood vessel in his stomach by coincidence his longtime friend Loretta Lynn was also at that hospital caring for her husband who was suffering from diabetes Allen over Tony said d'Orsay Conway I said why what's wrong he said you want to see him you're gonna see him for the last time alive so I went in telling the akan West Conway don't you die on me I said you know you love to sing they come in right behind me and said Conway dad in the early morning hours of June 5th 1993 Conway Twitty passed away he was 59 years old he was buried at Sumner Memorial Gardens in Gallatin Tennessee in a red granite vault under the name Harold L jank two months after his death Twiggy's last album final touches was released sadly family squabbles over his mass fortune drove the Twiddy empire into ruins Twiddy city was sold and soon demolished much of Twiggy's belongings including precious family photos were also sold at auction while twitty son and death and his family's infighting marked a sad ending to his incredible career his place in country music history will never be erased Conway Twitty scored over 54 number-one country music songs and even a number one rock-and-roll hit with maple leaf while elvis presley may have been crowned the king of rock and roll Twiggy's fans find it fitting that conway twitty is regarded as the high priest of country music [Music] thank you for watching don't forget to like this video and to subscribe

Channel: Alpha 11

Views: 494,661

Keywords: Conway Twitty, hello darlin, Country Music, Conway Twitty Biography, Country Music Hall Of Fame, Loretta Lynn, It's Only Make Believe, George Jones, Linda on my Mind, Rockabilly Hall of Fame

Id: bfkttZ3ot_Y

Length: 7min 13sec (433 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 14 2019